HASA Stories

Comments for: With Hope and Without Hope

Talk to docmon

If you are a HASA member, you must login to submit a comment.

We're sorry. Only HASA members may post comments. If you would like to speak with the author, please use the "Email Author" button in the Reader Toolbox. If you would like to join HASA, click here. Membership is free.

With Hope and Without Hope

Finally! We have chapter 8 of With Hope and Without Hope! "Dreams" has posted! See how Gimli and Legolas are faring. See if Pippin's plans will amount to anything. And we'll get a glance of Aragorn, too. But I'm not promising anything there...

With Hope and Without Hope

Thanks to all my readers who have stuck around through the imprisonment of the Three Hunters and the hobbits in Orthanc. That's not to imply that they are out of the Tower. But you can read in Chapter 9,"Plans," to see how they're doing!

With Hope and Without Hope

Hah! I just read and reviewed this story elsewhere! Well, I will repeat, I really look forward to seeing what happens next. Great characterizations all around, and very suspenseful. This is already an excellent AU but very much in keeping with Tolkien's characters and style.

With Hope and Without Hope

OMG! Chapter 11, that part with the Nazgul was...awesome! They're so evil, so terrifying. but singleminded to the point of laughability. That's not a criticism of your writing, I think you did it beautifully. But it was still pretty amazing.

With Hope and Without Hope

I've already spent two enjoyable evenings with this story, which I found on the MEFA-site. Being a fan of AUs and what-if scenarios I couldn't pass this one up! And since I'm a ranger girl as well, you won't see me complaining about all the drama you're subjecting poor Aragorn to:)

So, just a little note in between chapters, because chapter 14 seems to be messed up. The second half is one of the previous chapters.

With Hope and Without Hope

That standoff between Saruman and Gandalf was superbly written. I think those wizards are you secret strong point:) They're very complex characters, but it seemed you were throwing their views, plans and opinions against one another with ease. Very impressive!

With Hope and Without Hope

Oh, no -- only one chapter left!! Egads, I've enjoyed this, looking eagerly for the next installment as often as I could. You've wound the story back into the "real" one seamlessly, so I shouldn't have been so shocked that it is coming to an end. Thanks!

With Hope and Without Hope

What fascinating tale! I like AUs (I think I've said as much before), because it's a most interesting genre - especially if the authors know his/her way around canon. It's a little intellectual exercise - to change one detail in the larger tale and see what ramifications this will bring.

From the different stories you provided here, I must say I liked Aragorn's and Pippin's the best - and not only because I'm a ranger girl. In my opinion, it's hard to find something that would break Aragorn to such a degree as Saruman managed - and the possibility that he could turn to the dark side of the force has always fascinated me (just imagined it... Aragorn on the side of the baddies *swoons*). But it was Pippin who really surprised me here. He matured a lot during the course of the story, and the changed roles between him and Aragorn felt at some point absolutely natural, and believable. I like seeing Pippin come into his own (evidence towards the end, when he keeps interrupting Gandalf until his opinion is heard).

With Hope and Without Hope

That's just how I approached this story: change one or two details from canon - now what have we got?

It would be hard to come up with something that would break Aragorn. I kind of came at it from the other end. As I played out my scenario, I asked myself what would be each character's reaction. Aragorn reaching his breaking point wasn't necessarily part of the scenario at that point. But when I found the combination of circumstances that would bring that about... well, yeah!

In some ways, this turned out to be very much a hobbit tale, didn't it? Both hobbits underwent great changes and grew as characters perhaps more than any others. So glad the evolution felt natural for you.

Thank you for your comments. I love hearing what you enjoyed about the story.

In Stories

Finding Story Comments

Only chapters with comments appear in the drop down list. "General Comments" are free floating and don't belong to a particular chapter.

To leave a comment for a chapter that doesn't appear in the drop-down list, go to that chapter and use the form on the page.

Donation Options

Every web site costs something to operate, and HASA is no exception. Our hosting fees are $150 per month. If you appreciate the site, please consider donating. We have three on-line PayPal options:

One time contribution

Monthly donation

Annual donation

My Library

HASA members please log in to access your library.

My Library allows amember to create a list of favorite stories and authors that is always there on HASA, ready to use. Members also use the library to sign up for alerts from authors about stories, save story searches, and manage comments.